Apparatus for the treatment of textile materials



Sept. 26, 1967 R. V. HAYMAN APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENTOF EXTILEMATERIALS Filed April 5, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Attorneys Sept.26, 1967 R. v. HAYMAN APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALSFiled April 5, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor ru zw A tlorneys Sept. 26,1967 R. v. HAYVMAN' 3,343,378

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT TEXTILE MATERIALS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledApril 5, 1965 lm ienlor B 4 WWMQZW A ltorneys p 9 R. v. HAYMAN APPARATUSFOR THE TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed April 5, 1965' 5Sheets-Sheet 4 3 2 Ns j m N I n venlor :Z: A llorneys 09 Oh v I 1 I I ubv 21L um um v m 3,343,378 APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF'TEXTILEMATERIALS I Filed April 5, 1965 Sept. 26, 1967 R. v. HAVYYMAN 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Mh5a,%, a4

Attorneys United States Patent 3,343,378 APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OFTEXTILE MATERIALS Roy V. Hayman, Cwmbran, England, assignor to BritishNylon Spinners Limited, Pontypool, England Filed Apr. 5, 1965, Ser. No.445,426

Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 18, 1964,

16,144/ 64 8 Claims. (Cl. 685) This invention relates to apparatus forthe treatment of textile materials and more particularly for thetreatment of textile materials in continuous lengths in steam underpressure, or in aqueous liquids beneath an atmosphere of steam underpressure.

Examples of textile materials in continuous lengths are textile fabrics,warps, tows and yarns, for instance nylon fabrics.

The expression steam under pressure means that the steam shows a gaugepressure; in other words, the steam is at a pressure above atmosphericpressure. Any specific pressures referred to throughout thespecification will thus be gauge pressures.

It is frequently required to treat textile materials with saturatedsteam at temperatures exceeding the boiling point of water, at whichtemperatures the said steam is accordingly under pressure. Thus steamingtreatments are employed to fix the colours on dyed or printed fabrics.Another important application of steam under pressure is in the settingof nylon yarn of fabrics in order to stabilise the physical shape orconfiguration thereof. Crimped yarn for example would be set to preventthe crimp being destroyed during dyeing. Likewise nylon fabric would beset in a smooth state to prevent subsequent creasing during finishing orin after-treatments, e.g. dyeing. Furthermore, it is often advantageousto execute continuous hot wet treatments in aqueous liquids attemperatures above the boiling point of water. The atmosphere above suchliquids comprises steam under pressure.

The great difficulty encountered in effecting such steam or hot aqueousliquid treatment continuously is to prevent the steam under pressureescaping from the steam chamber through the orifices provided for theingress and egress of the travelling textile fabric, particularly whenhigher pressures, e.g. 3.5 kgrn. per sq. cm. are necessary to producethe desired temperature. To prevent or minimise the leak of steam whichconstitutes an expensive waste, numerous efforts have been made to sealthe aforesaid orifices by means of flaps, rubber rollers and likedevices, but without affording what can be regarded as a successful orsatisfactory solution to the problem. Indeed it has hitherto beenimpossible to work with pressures of the order of 7 kgm. per sq. cm.

The same problem arises in the treatment of textile materials incontinuous lengths by the application thereto of aqueous liquids attemperatures above the boiling point of Water, for example in dyeing orscouring opera tions, since the atmosphere above such liquids willcomprise steam under pressure, into and out of which the textilematerials must pass in coming from and returning to the outsideatmosphere.

In the invention described in British patent specification,corresponding to United States Patent 3,067,602, No. 914,600 no attemptis made to close hermetically the above-mentioned orifices for thefabric. Instead the leakage of steam is prevented or minimised byconfronting said steam at the orifices with an atmosphere of air atsubstantially the same pressure. If the air were at precisely the samepressure as the steam, it is true that no leak of steam would occur byflow through the orifices, but owing to diffusion of the air and steamand entrainment of the gases by the travelling fabric an invasion of thesteam chamber by the air would take place causing an undesirable fall inthe temperature of the steam to ensue. To prevent this diffusion thepressure outside the steam chamber is allowed to fall very slightlybelow that of the steam, so that the steam leaks very slowly out of theorifices preventing any intrusion of the air into the steam chamber.This is accomplished by means of apparatus which comprises threeadjacent chambers, namely a first chamber fitted with a conventional airsupply to maintain a pressure of air therein and adapted to accommodatethe feed roll and take up roll for the continuous lengths of textilematerial, a second intermediate diffusion chamber having an escapevalve, and a third chamber fitted with a conventional steam supply tomaintain a pressure of steam therein and containing appropriate rolls orother known devices for carrying the textile material to be treated, thechambers intercommunicating by means of orifices designed closely to fitthe cross-sectional contour of the textile material whilst permittingits passage from the first through the second to the third chamber andits return via the second chamber to the first chamber.

In the above apparatus textile materials in continuous lengths which areto be treated with steam are forwarded from a first chamber filled withair under pressure through an orifice into a second adjacent chambercontaining a mixture of air and steam at a slightly lower pressure andthen through an orifice into a third adjacent chamber filled with steamat the same, or very nearly the same, pressure as that of the air in thesaid first chamber, and thence back through orifices by way of thesecond chamber to the first chamber, said orifices being designedclosely to fit the cross-sectional contour of the textile materialswhilst permitting their easy passage. It has now been found that thesize of the intermediate diffusion chamber can conveniently be reducedby restricting its cross-sectional area to the neighbourhood of eachorifice so that in fact the original single diffusion chamber becomestwo smaller diffusion chambers, both however communicating with the airchamber which accommodates the feed roll and take up roll.

The invention of British patent specification No. 914,600 also includeshowever an apparatus for the treatment of textile materials incontinuous lengths with steam under pressure, comprising three adjacentchambers intercommunicating by means of orifices designed closely to fitthe cross-sectional contour of the textile material whilst permittingits passage from the first to the third chamber and its return to theformer, whereof the first chamber is fitted with a conventional airsupply to maintain a pressure of air therein and (in addition to theorifices referred to above) possesses two orifices communicating withthe outside atmosphere to permit the untreated textile material to enterthe first chamber from the outside and the treated material to returnthereto from the first chamber, which two orifices are sealed toprevent'undue leakage of air, the second intermediate diffusion chamberhas an escape valve and the third chamber is fitted with a conventionalsteam supply to maintain a pressure of steam therein, and the first andthird chambers contain appropriate rolls or other known devices whichbear an endless track adapted to carry the textile material and runningfrom the first chamber where the textile material joins it, through thesecond and third chambers and back through the second chamber to thefirst chamber, where the textile material leaves said track. Now thisform of the apparatus in which the air chamber no longer accommodatesthe feed roll and take up roll can conveniently be modified not only byrestricting the cross-sectional area of the diffusion chamber to theneighbourhood of each orifice but also by restricting thecross-sectional area of the air chamber in like manner so that itbecomes two smaller air chambers corresponding with the two smallerdiffusion chambers. In other words each orifice of the steam chamber canbe regarded as covered by its own diffusion surmounted by its own airchamber.

It will furthermore be observed that treatment of textile materials withsteam in the apparatus of British patent specification No. 914,600involves reversing the direction in which they run at least once, sincethey return from the third chamber back to the first chamber by way ofthe second chamber. Now in the case of fabrics in continuous lengthswhich are submitted to steam treatment, a degree of tension is necessaryboth in the warp direction, i.e. direction of travel, and also in theweft direction. So long as the fabric travels in a straight line theforces of tension tending to cause the fabric to contract lie in theplane of the fabric. If however there is a change of directioncomponents of the forces come into existence which are at right anglesto the plane of the fabric. Especially is this so at reversal when thefabric is turned through an angle of 180. It will be understood that theoriginal forces of tension are increased by any tendency to shrinkinduced by the steam treatment. Since the fabric is normally held onlyat the edges (selvedges) the aforesaid tensions produce a sagging or aWaist in the fabric at the turning point which is sometimes troublesome.The fabric may even, in extreme cases, be torn away from the selvedges,particularly if it is a cloth of light construction. It is possible toprevent the aforesaid sagging or waist-formation by providing asupporting roller across the full width of the fabric at each turningpoint but such a device is mechanically complicated since the rollermust be telescopic, i.e. capable of adjustment to fit different widthsof fabric and also it must present a very smooth surface to the fabricin order to avoid marking the latter. This solution to the problem isconsequently expensive and unattractive from a practical point of view.

It has now been found that the above difficulties can be overcome bymodifying the apparatus of British patent specification No. 914,600 sothat the fabric can enter the steam chamber (referred to in thatspecification as the third chamber) on one side and leave it on theopposite side after passing straight through. This involves aduplication of the air chamber and diffusion chamber (referred to as thefirst and second chamber respectively) since one of each sort of chamberis required to be positioned both at the entry side of the steam chamberand at the exit side of the steam chamber. Morever, since the steamchamber of the present modified apparatus may contain only one straightlength of the fabric being treated, this chamber is often relativelylong and narrow compared with the steam chamber illustrated in Britishpatent specification No. 914,600. By relatively narrow is meant,strictly speaking, of relatively restricted cross-sectional area. Thelong and narrow shape is not regarded as inconvenient from the point ofview of factory planning, nor indeed need the apparatus be unduly longdespite the air and diffusion chambers at each end of it since for agiven time of treatment the length of the steam chamber clearly dependson the rate at which it is desired to pass the fabric through theapparatus. The present apparatus is moreover relatively simple to buildinasmuch as it does not necessitate the somewhat elaborate devicesemployed in the apparatus of British patent specification No. 914,600 tocarry or convey the fabric along a sinuous or zigzag path within thesteam chamber. That is not to say that the use of such devices isexcluded from the present invention. The latter includes moreover longnarrow steam chambers having a plurality of orifices at each end so thata number of separate textile materials can be passed throughsimultaneously. In such a case the orifices at each end can be coveredby one diffusion and one air chamber, or if preferred each orifice mayhave its own diffusion and air chamber. Alternatively, each orifice canbe provided with its own diffusion chamber, all the diffusion chambersat each end of the steam chamber communicating with a single airchamber. The provision of a plurality of diffusion chambers thusconstitutes a characteristic of the present invention. When the feedroll and take up roll for the textile material are positioned outsidethe air chamber or air chambers the sealing of the orifices in thelatter communicating with the outside atmosphere may be effected by anyconventional or known means.

Accordingly the present invention consists of an apparatus for thetreatment of textile materials in continuous lengths in steam underpressure or in aqueous liquids beneath an atmosphere of steam underpressure, comprising a steam chamber fitted with a conventional steamsupply to maintain a pressure of steam therein and having a plurality oforifices designed closely to fit the crosssectional contour of thetextile material and permit its passage into and out of the chamber, aplurality of diffusion chambers furnished with escape valves, with whichdiffusion chambers said orifices communicate, one or more air chamberscommunicating in turn by means of the same total number of similarlyshaped orifices with the aforesaid diffusion chambers, provided with aconventional air supply to maintain a pressure of air therein and eitheradapted to accommodate the feed and take up rolls for the continuouslengths of textile material or having one or more sealed orifices topermit the untreated textile material to enter the air chamber from theoutside and enable the treated material to return thereto by leaving theair chamber, and appropriate rolls or other known devices adapted tocarry the textile material into and out of the steam chamber by way ofan air chamber and a diffusion chamber.

Although the orifices, whilst allowing easy passage of the textilematerial should fit its cross-sectional contour snugly to diminishdiffusion, there is no question of gastightness involved in the orificesconnecting the chambers because there is no pressure gradient acrossthese orifices except a minute one deliberately introduced to engenderthe slow leak already discussed. Whilst both saturated and superheatedsteam can be used in the present apparatus, the former is usually to bepreferred on account of its general availability and the convenientfixed relationship between its temperature and pressure, which meansthat a desired temperature can be ensured by maintaining thecorresponding pressure.

The sealed orifices used in the air chambers when the latter communicatewith the outside atmosphere may comprise, for example nip rolls, flapvalves, or deformable elements pressed against the textile material, butit is preferred to effect the sealing by constructing each orifice orslot of two strips of material, e.g. metal or resin and especiallypolytetrafl'uoroethylene, one strip being fixed whilst the other mayapproach or recede therefrom to suit the thickness of the textilematerial.

Known devices adapted to carry the textile material include tenters ofstenters with continuous pin tracks, also accessories used in connectiontherewith such as fabric guiding devices, stripper rolls for separatingfabrics from the pin track, scroll rolls for smoothing fabrics,uncurlers for uncurling the selvedges especially in the case of knittedfabrics, conventional mechanical arrangements for controlling the widthand tension of fabrics and overfeeding devices.

The present apparatus may optionally be employed in conjunction withother apparatus for treating textile materials in continuous lengths sothat other treatments, e.g. dyeing, bleaching, scouring, and coatingwith impervious or other materials, e.g. rubber, can be combinedconsecutively with the steam treatment in one continuous process.

This invention is advantageously applicable not only to processes forthe treatment of textile materials in continuous lengths in steam itselfunder pressure, but also to processes involving the application to thetextile materials of aqueous liquids at temperatures above the boilingpoint of water, which are accordingly covered by an atmospherecomprising steam under pressure, into and out of which the textilematerials must pass in coming from and returning to the outsideatmosphere.

The working of the invention will now be explained in greater detailwith reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein FIGURE1 is a sectional view illustrating one embodiment of the apparatus, FIG-URES 2, 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views of second, third, fourth andfifth embodiments and FIGURE 6 is ,a fragmentary view illustrating partof FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 1 (illustrating a case of two diffusion chambers and one airchamber which contains the rolls of textile material):

1-air chamber 2air supply to air chamber 3feed roll for textile material4take-up roll for textile material 5, 6--diffusion chambers 7, 8ventpipes of diffusion chambers with valves 9-steam chamber 10-rolls forsupporting textile material in steam chamber 11-steam supply to steamchamber 12orifices for passage of textile material 13-continuous pintrack conveyor.

In this and other FIGURES 25 the lagging which would normally be fittedto the steam chamber 9 and any steam pipe to prevent loss of heat hasnot been shown. 7

FIGURE 2 (illustrating a case of two diffusion chambers and one airchamber, with the rolls of textile material in the outside atmosphere):

l4a-sealed orifices to accommodate .running textile material.

The other numerals in FIGURE 2 have the 'same significance as in FIGURE1.

FIGURE 3 (illustrating a case of two diffusion chambers and two airchambers with the rolls of textile material in the outside atmosphere):

The numerals 1-14 have the meanings already assigned above. 15bsec0n'dair chamber.

FIGURE 4 (illustrating a case of two diffusion chambers and two airchambers with six separate tows):

The numerals 1-15 have the meanings already assigned above. 16c-niprolls.

FIGURE 5 (illustrating an arangement similar to FIG- I URE 2, exceptthat the steam chamber is positioned vertically and accommodates a bathof hot aqueous liquid):

The numerals 1-13 have the meanings already assigned.

17d-heating coil. 18d-aqueous liquid.

In operating the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 1, a roll of thetextile material for treatment is inserted at 3 and the material takenon the continuous pin track conveyor 13 through the orifices 12 roundthe rolls 10 in chamber 9 and back to the take-up roll 4. Saturatedsteam at the required pressure to produce the requisite temperature isadmitted to chamber 9 by means of the supply line 11 carrying aconventional pressure regulating valve 111. An equal pressure of air issimilarly maintained in chamber 1 by the supply line 2 which is likewisefurnished with a pressure regulating valve 102. In order to prevent'air. finding its way into the steam chamber 9, the valves 107 and 108of the vent pipes 7 and 8 are very slightly opened. The fabric is thenmechanically forwarded from roll 3 through the diffusion chamber 5 intothe steam chamber 9, round the rolls 10 and back via the diffusionchamber 6 to the take-up roll 4. The steam chamber 9 may advantageouslybe conventionally lagged and fitted with a water trap (not shown). Thefact that only a slow leak of steam through the vent pipes 7 and 8 isrequired to pre- 14a provided, and-is wound up vent the intrusion of airinto the steam chamber 9 constitutes a very important economic advantageof the invention.

By way of example, in treating plain weave nylon fabric constructed ofyarn of 205 denier and cm. wide the orifices 12 take the form of slots.An appropriate steaming temperature is 153 C. This corresponds to asteam pressure in chamber 9 of 4.2 kgm. per sq. cm. Accordingly the airpressure in chambers 5 and 6 is also adjusted to 4.2 kgm. per sq. cm.Through the two vent pipes 7 and 8 a slow leak is allowed which needonly amount to a total of about kgm. of steam per hour. Thecorresponding drop in pressure in the diffusion chambers is very small,about 0.25 cm. of water, say. The nylon fabric is forwarded through thesteam chamber 9 on a suitable stenter, which controls its width, at sucha speed that its time of passage therethrough, that is tosay, its periodof treatment is 3 minutes. The rolls 3 and 4 are both positively driven,the former 5% faster than the latter in order to afford this degree ofoverfeed and allow corresponding longitudinal shrinkage of the fabric.The nylon fabric is then found to have been more efficiently set so thatit does not become creased during domestic washing.

The above apparatus may with advantage be controlled automatically inthe following manner. As already mentioned any invasion of the steamchamber 9 by air from chamber 5 or chamber 6 causes a fall intemperature. This can be detected by suitably positioned temperatureprobes. It is arranged that a low temperature signal from such a probecauses a conventional temperature-sensitive device to increase the leakfrom the vent pipe (7 or 8) in question and thus prevent air invadingthe steam chamber. The pressure of steam in the latter can likewise beautomatically controlled so that it is maintained at a selected value,e.g.,' 4.2 kgm. per sq. cm. Likewise a similar temperature-sensitivedevice can be placed, if desired, in chamber 1, which detects by therise in temperature the presence of any steam finding its way into thatchamber and automatically increases the leak from the vent pipes (7 and8). Alternatively instead of adjusting the leak from the vent pipes, thelatter can be maintained at a constant value, and the invasion of theair chamber 1 by steam prevented by the automatic adjustment of thepressure of the air admitted to chamber 1. Similarly the invasion of thesteam chamber 9 by air can be prevented by the automatic adjustment ofthe pressure of the steam admitted to the said chamber 9.

In working the above apparatus it is necessary, when the feed roll hasbecome empty by the passage of all the textile material on to thetake-up roll, to release the air and steam pressures, so that the airchamber can be opened, and the feed roll and take up roll exchanged forfresh ones. Then the air and steam pressures must be reestablishedbefore work can recommence. However, by removing the feed and take-uprolls of textile material outside the air chamber as shown in FIGURE 2of the drawings, the process can be made nearly continuous, since freshfeed and take-up rolls can be fitted without releasing the air and steampressures. Thus the feed and take-up rolls 3a and 4a communicate withthe pin track conveyor 13a bymeans of the two sealed orifices 14a in theleft-hand wall of the air chamber 1a. These orifices are narrow slotsdesigned to accommodate the textile material as it runs into and out ofthe air chamber. When the apparatus is in operation therefore, acontinuous length of textile material is wound off the feed roll 3a,passes into the said chamber 10 through one of the beforementionedslots, and then engages with the pin track 13a and is carried by thetrack through chamber 5a into chamber 9a, where the textile materialpasses round the rolls 10a and is then taken back through chamber 6a bythe pin track. The textile material then parts company with the pintrack, leaves chamber 1 through the narrow slot on the take-uproll 4asituated outside chamber 1a.

The slots 14a provided in the wall of chamber 101 for the passage of thecontinuous lengths of textile material must be sealed as well aspossible to prevent undue leakage of air from chamber 1a. Suitable meansfor sealing can comprise known arrangements of nip rolls, but as shownin FIGURE 6 it is preferred to effect the sealing by constructing theslot of two strips 50 and 52 of polytetrafiuoroethylene, one strip 50being fixed whilst the other 52 may approach or recede therefrom to suitthe thickness of the textile material. The movable strip 52 is urgedagainst the textile material, in order to minimise leakage of air, bysuitable resilient means, the latter consisting conveniently of airpressure, applied indirectly to the back of said strip by inflating arubber tube 54 held thereagainst. The slot shaped orifices areconveniently made adjustable by conventional mechanical means so as tofit different widths of fabric.

The working of the apparatus can be nearly continuous because when thefeed roll or textile material has become empty, it is only necessary tosew the end of the length of textile material being treated on to thebeginning of a length carried on a fresh feed roll. At the same time theend of textile material emerging from the apparatus is severed andattached to a fresh (empty take-up roll. These operations can be carriedout within about a minute, whereas to change the textile rolls in theapparatus shown in FIGURE 1 may occupy about 10 minutes on account ofthe necessity to release the steam and air pressures, and thenre-establish them after the textile rolls have been changed.

The apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 3 comprises a realtively long andnarrow steam chamber compared with that of FIGURES 1 and 2, and has airand diffusion chambers at each end. In operating this apparatus thetextile material, for instance a fabric, is conveyed from feed-roll 3b,through the sealed orifice 14b into the air chamber 1b where the fabricruns on to the pin track conveyor 13b. It is carried on the latter, viathe orifices 12b, through the diffusion chamber 5b into chamber 917,which is full of saturated steam at a pressure of 4.2 kgm. per sq. crn.corresponding to a temperature of 153 C. Thence the fabric is conveyedvia orifices 12b through the diffusion chamber 6b into the air chamber15b and from there via orifice 14b to the wind-up roll 4b.

The steaming apparatus of FIGURE 3 may be employed for fixing thecolours on dyed or printed fabrics. Thus a scoured plain weave nylonfabric is conventionally dyed with a disperse dyestuff in a jig or witha vat dyestuff, e.g. Colour Index Vat Green No. 3 in a mangle, in acontinuous process, the dyed fabric being dried by an oven. The fabricis then passed through the steaming apparatus of FIGURE 3 at such aspeed that the time spent by any part of the fabric in the steam chamber9b is 1 minute. The steamed fabric is dried by passage through an ovenand wound up. It will thus be understood that with reference to FIGURE 3for the combined treatment now under consideration, there would beinterposed between the feed-roll 3b and the air chamber 1b, conventionalapparatus (not shown) for dyeing and drying. Likewise, an oven fordrying would be positioned between the air chamber 15b and the wind-uproll 4b.

Instead of the above dyeing operation there can be substituted aprinting operation effected by a screen or roller printing machine orelse a bleaching treatment. For instance a cotton fabric, which has beenduly singed and desized can be bleached with an aqueous solutioncontaining the following ingredients per litre:

Gms. Magnesium sulphate heptahydrate 2.5 Sodium silicate 2.5 Sodiumhydroxide 1.0 Anhydrous sodium carbonate 2.0 Sodium cetyl sulphate 1,035% weight by weight hydrogen peroxide 20.0

The steaming apparatus of FIGURE 3 can likewise be advantageouslyapplied to the curing of proofed fabrics such as a tarpaulin. Forinstance a fabric weighing 185 gms. per square metre constructed fromnylon yarn of 840 denier is coated on each side with a layer of rubber0.015 cm. thick, by repeated immersion in a soltuion of rubber in anorganic solvent and removal of the latter by drying the fabric in anoven. The roll of coated fabric is positioned at 3b and the fabricpassed through the steaming apparatus of FIGURE 3 at such a speed thateach part of the fabric spends 1 hour in chamber 9b which containssaturated steam at a temperature of 153 C. In this way the curing timecan be reduced to about one quarter of the time normally needed when aconventional process employing saturated steam at atmospheric pressureis used. Furthermore, the fault of porosity in the rubber apt to occurin the latter process is eliminated.

The long narrow form of the present apparatus lends itself particularlyto the simultaneous treatment of a plurality of separate textilematerials in continuous lengths. In FIGURE 4 is shown an apparatuswherein six crimped nylon tows each having a total denier of 1,000,000are passed simultaneously through the steam chamber with its airchambers 1c and and diffusion chambers 50 and 6c in order to set thecrimp. The feedrolls and take-up rolls are not depicted in FIGURE 4. Thesaturated steam in chamber 9c is maintained at a pressure of 6.3 kgm.per square cm. corresponding to a temperature of 166 C. The tows areconveyed through the steam chamber 9c, which is 122 cm. long at a speedof 366 metres per minute, and thus become effectively set.

FIGURE 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present apparatus similar tothat of FIGURE 2, except that the steam chamber 9d is arrangedvertically with the air chamber 1d and diffusion chambers 5d, 6d at thetop. In the bottom of the steam chamber is a 2% by weight aqueoussolution of sodium hydroxide. Under a pressure of 4.2 kgm. per sq. cm.this solution boils at about 153 C. The solution is raised to thistemperature by means of the heating coil 17d. The escape of steam isprevented by admitting air through pipe 2d so as to maintain an airpressure of 4.2 kgm. in chamber 1d and at the same time allowing aslight leak from the diffusion chambers 5d and 6d by means of pipes 7dand 8d. Cotton fabric which is to be scoured is conveyed through the hotsodium hydroxide bath by the pin track conveyor 13d round the rolls 10dat such a speed that any point on the fabric takes 5 minutes to passthrough the chamber 9d. In this manner the cotton fabric is rapidlyscoured without creasing or staining taking place.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for the treatment of textile materials in continuouslengths in steam under pressure and in aqueous liquids beneath anatmosphere of steam under pressure, comprising a steam chamber; steamsupply means maintaining an above atmospheric steam pressure in saidchamber, said chamber having a plurality of orifices designed closely tofit the cross-sectional contour of the textile material and permit itspassage into and out of the chamber, a plurality of diffusion chamberswith which diffusion chambers said orifices communicate; means includingescape valves maintaining said diffusion chambers at a lower pressurethan the pressure in said steam chamber; an air chamber communicating inturn by means of the same total number of similarly shaped orifices withthe aforesaid diffusion chambers; air supply means maintaining an airpressure in said air chamber about equal to the steam pressure in saidsteam chamber, said air chamber having sealed orifices to permit theuntreated textile material to enter the air chamber from the outside andenable the treated material to return thereto by leaving the airchamber, and means for carrying the textile material into and out of thesteam chamber by way of an air chamber and a diffusion chamber.

2. An apparatus for the treatment of textile materials in continuouslengths in steam under pressure and in aqueous liquids beneath anatmosphere of steam under pressure, comprising a steam chamber; steamsupply means maintaining an above atmospheric steam pressure in saidchamber, said chamber having a plurality of orifices designed closely tofit the cross-sectional contour of the textile material and permit itspassage into and out of the chamber, a plurality of diffusion chamberswith which diffusion chambers said orifices communicate; means includingescape valves maintaining said diffusion chambers at a lower pressurethan the pressure in said steam chamber; an air chamber communicating inturn by means of the same total number of similarly shaped orifices withthe aforesaid diffusion chambers; and textile feed and take-up rolls insaid air chamber; air supply means maintaining an air pressure in saidair chamber about equal to the steam pressure in said steam chamber.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealed orifices areeach constructed of two strips of material, one strip being fixed whilstthe other may approach and recede therefrom to suit the thickness of thetextile material.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein there is a single air chamber andwherein each of said diffusion chambers communicates with said steamchamber through a single orifice and with said air chamber through asingle orifice, each of said diffusion chambers having a cross section,in a direction transverse to the direction of fabric travel through theorifices, which is substantially smaller than the cross sections of saidair chamber and said steam chamber.

5. An apparatus for the treatment of textile materials in continuouslengths in steam under pressure and in aqueous liquids beneath anatmosphere of steam under pressure, comprising a long narrow steamchamber fitted with a conventional steam supply to maintain a pressureof steam therein and having at each end a plurality of orifices designedclosely to fit the cross-sectional contour of the textile material andpermit its passage into and out of the chamber, a plurality of diffusionchambers furnished with escape valves, with which diffusion chamberssaid orifices communicate, a plurality of air chambers communicating inturn by means of the same total number of similarly shaped orifices withthe aforesaid diffusion chambers, provided with a conventional airsupply to maintain a pressure of air therein and appropriate knowndevices to carry the textile material into and out of the steam chamberby way of an air chamber and a diffusion chamber.

6. Apparatus for the treatment of textile materials in continuouslengths comprising: walls defining a steam chamber; steam supply meansmaintaining an above atmospheric steam pressure in said steam chamber,said walls having at least two orifices designed closely to fit thecross-sectional contour of the textile material and permit its passageinto and out of said steam chamber; Walls defining at least twodiffusion chambers each communicating with said steam chamber through adifferent one of said orifices; means including escape valvesmaintaining said diffusion chambers at a lower pressure than thepressure in said steam chamber; walls defining at least one air chamber,said walls having at least two orifices each of which communicates witha different one of said diffusion chambers; conveyor means carryingtextile material into and out of said steam chamber by way of an airchamber and a diffusion; and air supply means maintaining an airpressure in said air chamber about equal to the steam pressure in saidsteam chamber.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein there is a separate diffusion chamberlocated at each end of said steam chamber and a separate air chamberadjacent each of said separate diffusion chambers, wherein the orificesassociated with said chambers are in general alignment with each other,and wherein said textile carrying means carries the textile through saidapparatus in generally a straight line.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the number of diffusionchambers is two and the number of air chambers is from one to two.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 9/1963 GreatBritain.

IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALS IN CONTINUOUSLENGTHS IN STEAM UNDER PRESSURE AND IN AQUEOUS LIQUIDS BENEATH ANATMOSPHERE OF STEAM UNDER PRESSURE, COMPRISING A STEAM CHAMBER; STEAMSUPPLY MEANS MAINTAINING AN ABOVE ATMOSPHERIC STEAM PRESSURE IN SAIDCHAMBER, SAID CHAMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF ORIFICES DESIGNED CLOSELY TOFIT THE CROSS-SECTIONAL CONTOUR OF THE TEXTILE MATERIAL AND PERMIT ITSPASSAGE INTO AND OUT OF THE CHAMBER, A PLURALITY OF DIFFUSION CHAMBERSWITH WHICH DIFFUSION CHAMBERS SAID ORIFICES COMMUNICATE; MEANS INCLUDINGESCAPE VALVES MAINTAINING SAID DIFFUSION CHAMBERS AT A LOWER PRESSURETHAN THE PRESSURE IN SAID STEAM CHAMBER; AN AIR CHAMBER COMMUNICATING INTURN BY MEANS OF THE SAME TOTAL NUMBER OF SIMILARLY SHAPED ORFICES WITHTHE AFORESAID DIFFUSION CHAMBERS; AIR SUPPLY MEANS MAINTAINING AN AIRPRESSURE IN SAID AIR CHAMBER ABOUT EQUAL TO THE STEAM PRESSURE IN SAIDSTEAM CHAMBER, SAID AIR CHAMBER HAVING SEALED ORIFICES TO PERMIT THEUNTREATED TEXTILE MATERIAL TO ENTER THE AIR CHAMBER FROM THE OUTSIDE ANDENABLE THE TREATED MATERIAL TO RETURN THERETO BY LEAVING THE AIRCHAMBER, AND MEANS FOR CARRYING THE TEXTILE MATERIAL INTO AND OUT OF THESTEAM CHAMBER BY WAY OF AN AIR CHAMBER AND A DIFFUSION CHAMBER.